


The Return of the Jedi

by roane



Series: Luke's Epiphany [3]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Regret, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 17:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5594500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roane/pseuds/roane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Is it really all true? Did you really do all of the things they say?"</p>
<p>"Probably not." A smile tugged at his lips, the feeling alien and almost forgotten. "Stories have a way of growing beyond the bounds of truth."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Return of the Jedi

The journey down to the sea seemed to take hours. It bruised Luke's pride to see the way Rey matched his pace, slowing down to stay with him. 

He'd never expected to live this long. He wasn't supposed to have survived. For a time after the victory on Endor, in between cleaning up the remnants of the Empire, Luke kept wondering: _what do I do now?_ What did you do when you survived the unsurvivable? 

The academy had seemed like the logical answer, born out of his work with Leia. In the galactic population boom that followed the Empire's fall, more and more children were born with sensitivity to the Force. And their parents sought out the one person they thought could help.  So with a carefully selected handful of these Force-sensitive "victory kids", Luke set out to try and create a new generation of Jedi.

He'd been such a fool.

Rey interrupted his thoughts. "Is it really all true? Did you really do all of the things they say?" 

"Probably not." A smile tugged at his lips, the feeling alien and almost forgotten. "Stories have a way of growing beyond the bounds of truth."

"Han--" her expression softened, some of the light dimming. "Han said it was true."

So Han had known her, and she had known him well enough to care about him. Leia had sent her here instead of coming herself. Had they known who she was? 

"Some of it is true," he conceded. "Why don't you tell me what you know?"

He listened as they continued the journey down, nodding to confirm true stories, almost laughing at some of the more ridiculous ones. 

Then she started talking about her own experiences. _She resisted_ Ben _. Oh my child, you are so strong and so dangerous_. Talking her way out of a First Order base. It had taken Luke months to master that calm, commanding voice.

By the time they heard Chewbacca's welcoming bellow, Luke was thoroughly shaken. He thought he'd never see a student as powerful as his nephew. He'd been wrong. Utterly wrong.

_Yoda, Ben, help me. I can't teach her._ What he meant, of course, was, _I can't afford any mistakes with this one_.

Chewbacca lifted him from the ground with the force of a hug, exuberant Chewie, who never cared if his friends were princesses, generals, heroes that other people regarded with awe. Luke suspected that to Chewie, Luke would always be a naive boy. It felt… good. A little like coming home.

Artoo beeped and squawked and Luke's guilt returned. Although Artoo had agreed to stay behind and shut down, Luke still wasn't convinced he had done right by the little droid.

Settling in once again behind the pilot's seat in the _Falcon_ was bittersweet. Rey handled the controls like she'd been born to them, and she and Chewie were already a team. Luke closed his eyes at the familiar sense of gravity pulling at him and the wholly unfamiliar sense of pride, before being freed from both sensations as they breached the atmosphere.

Once they were in hyperspace, Rey and Luke, trailed by Artoo, retreated to the lounge area. Chewbacca, after exchanging glances with Luke, muttered something about keeping an eye on things in the cockpit.

He should tell her. Now. The longer he waited, the worse it would be. Do it now, then start to repair the damage.

Luke took the lightsaber from his side, looking at it for a long moment. "This has been used recently," he said, turning it over and seeing new carbon scoring.

"I… had to." Rey sounded apologetic. "Kylo Ren was going to kill my friend. And me." That last was an afterthought. 

"...he has a lightsaber?" New and unwelcome news. How had he gotten one?

She nodded. "I think there's something wrong with it, though. The blade seems… broken."

Well, that was appropriate, at least. Luke cleared his throat. "Do you know who you are?"

Fear flickered in Rey's wide, dark eyes. "I'm no one. A scavenger." Even as she said it, he saw the image in her head as plain as if he'd been there: a dark hallway, the pull of the Force leading her to a familiar wooden box. He heard the same voice she'd heard, faint but undeniable: _Rey, these are your first steps._

She had to know the truth. Luke took a deep breath and forced himself to look into her eyes. "The Force is strong in my family. My father had it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power, too."

"But I'm not--" Rey shook her head. The realization slowly spread over her face and she looked at him more closely. He felt her prying against the corners of his mind, seeking the truth. He let her in, just enough. Luke pictured Tria's face for Rey to find, showed her the day she'd left him and the academy. Rey hissed with recognition.

Hardest of all, he let her see the shock he experienced on seeing Rey's face for the first time.

_"You."_ Was that single word an accusation? Her eyes filled with tears that didn't fall. In return, she showed him her own story. Abandoned on Jakku, fending mostly for herself. Waiting for the family that never came. She threw images at him like daggers, and each one cut deep. He let them.

"Rey, I'm sorry." It was all there was to say. 

"Sorry." She sniffed at the word and maybe that wasn't all there was to say after all.

"I didn't know," he said. "If I had known--" _If I had known I would have moved the stars to find you. I would have left it all behind to be your father_.

Maybe he understood why Tria left after all, why she hadn't told him.

Rey was still in his mind, and she picked up on that line of thought. Her eyes widened. "You're telling the truth. You would have found me, helped me."

"Let me help you now." Not _let me make up for it_ , not _let me be your father_. Both might be impossibilities. "Let me," he forced himself to say it, "teach you."

There were a thousand ways she could have responded. The last one he would have anticipated was the smile that bloomed across her face. And he never would have anticipated that she'd throw herself across the deck and wrap her arms around him fiercely. A stunned moment later, Luke returned the hug, holding his daughter in his arms for the first time.

She sniffled, and his own eyes were stinging and damp. Everything snapped into utter clarity. He'd gone about it all wrong. In the old days, each Jedi had one Padawan. Just one. In his impatience to reinstate the Jedi, he'd taken on too much. He could do it right this time. Start with Rey. Just Rey. When she was ready, let her take on her own Padawan while he took another. Introduce younglings as more teachers became available. 

One at a time, the only way the Jedi could return once again. Slowly. Patiently.

And it would start again right here, with his daughter in his arms.


End file.
